'Not the end we dreamed of' - crash ruins Rea finale

Jonathan Rea suffered a knee injury in his crash with Remy Gardner on the opening lap of Sunday's Superpole race

In a career that brought six World Superbike Championship titles, 119 wins and 264 podiums, to finish it in the gravel trap was not the ending Jonathan Rea wanted.

The intention had been for the Northern Ireland rider to call time on his glittering 17-year career at Sunday's final race of the season at Jerez.

However, it was brought to a premature end when a knee injury sustained in an opening-lap crash of the earlier Superpole race ruled Rea out of one more start.

For the 38-year-old, there were "mixed emotions" as he said: "It's not the end we all dreamed of, but I'm very grateful to have had the career that I've had."

Being ruled out of the season finale was a cruel way to depart the sport, but also brought an end to a difficult two-year spell with Yamaha, which he had described as "stressful" and a "struggle" - and a far cry from the six successive titles with Kawasaki from 2015 to 2020.

"I was frustrated to go down, and to be ruled out of my last race isn't how I wanted to write the end of the story," Rea told BBC Sport NI's Stephen Watson in Spain.

"I also have to be very content. I'm happy to close the chapter.

"It hasn't been the dream I imaged the last few seasons. It's the end of a story I'm happy to get out of and start a new story."

The crash was the second of the weekend for Rea, who also ended Saturday's opening race in the gravel at Jerez.

On Sunday morning, he was battling with Australian Remy Gardner on the opening lap and the pair collided, which sent both riders into the gravel trap and Rea was taken away from his stricken bike on a stretcher.

Back in the paddock, he was walking gingerly and said early indications showed knee ligament damage.

Rea added the moment he found out he would not be able to race one final time was emotional as he was with his team manager and wife, Tatia, who had so often been by his side along with their sons, Jake and Tyler.

"It's tough in one way because it's not how you imagined you finish," he added.

"But every story must come to an end and you don't get to decide how that ends.

"There's a mix of emotions but overall there's relief that it is done. The sport has given me so much but taken away a lot as well, so I'm happy to walk slowly out of it."

'Small chapter in big book'

The latter two years of Rea's World Superbike career could not contrast more with the unprecedented success he had in his golden era, where he broke record after record to become the championship's most decorated rider.

But he hoped to be remembered for the good times, and compared it to MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, who won six titles in motorcycle racing's premier class before his career faded out in 2021.

"This is a small chapter in a big book that we've written," added Rea, who started out with Honda in 2008.

"The great Valentino Rossi, I can't remember how his last season went, never mind his last race. I hope I will be remembered like that.

"I went down fighting and I hope that still gives inspiration to people. I'm 100% sure that I will be able to have no regrets and I finish my career content with what I have done."

With strapping on his knee, Rea hobbled into his box in the pits and was greeted by his team with a 'Thank you JR' banner, before he was presented with a special helmet to mark his career.

His father Johnny - a successful motorcycle racer himself back in the 1980s - said: "We're proud of what he has achieved, but we're more proud of the person he is.

"I think he will be remembered for a long time."

Drama as Razgatlioglu holds off Bulega to retain championship

Toprak Razgatlioglu will head to MotoGP in 2026 as a three-time World Superbike champion

It was a dramatic Sunday at Jerez as Toprak Razgatlioglu won his third World Superbike title ahead of rival Nicolo Bulega after a tense final race.

The BMW rider, who won the championship in 2021 and 2024, came into the weekend with a sizeable 39-point lead over Ducati's Bulega.

That margin dropped as Bulega won the opening race on Saturday in front of Razgatlioglu, but there was drama to come in the Superpole sprint race.

Moments after Rea and Gardner had come together on the opening lap, Bulega went for a gap on the inside of leader Razgatlioglu, but the riders made contact and the defending champion slid into the gravel.

Bulega was handed a long-lap penalty for the incident, but had enough pace in hand to win the sprint race and reduce Razgatlioglu's lead to 22 points.

The Italian rider, 26, then controlled the main race to complete a weekend hat-trick of wins, but all eyes were on Razgatlioglu, who needed to finish 13th or above to claim the title.

In the end, the 29-year-old charged from 10th to third place to celebrate in his final World Superbike race before he moves to MotoGP in 2026 with Yamaha.

"We did an incredible season. Thank you very much everyone, my team, everyone worked so hard," Razgatlioglu told TNT Sports.

"I love this paddock, I know all the teams, everyone is respectful. I'll really miss this paddock, but maybe in the future I will come back here again."